Hostname: page-component-77c89778f8-n9wrp Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-19T18:50:56.604Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Conceptualizing the National Group for the Crime of Genocide: Is Law Able to Account for Identity Fault Lines?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 October 2020

Carola Lingaas Open the ORCID record for Carola Lingaas [Opens in a new window]
Carola Lingaas*
Affiliation:
VID Specialized University, Oslo, Norway
*
*Corresponding author. Email: carola.lingaas@vid.no
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

“National group” is one of four victim groups that is explicitly protected by international criminal law from genocide. At the core of any genocide lies an element of identity. Yet, the fixed group categories that the law provides for seemingly do not conform to the fluidity of group identities. Is the law at all able to account for identity fault lines? By recourse to research on identity construction and otherness, this article argues that the interpretation of the law of genocide can benefit, structurally and legally, from insight into the forces at work before a genocide erupts. In recognizing the perpetrator’s definitional power over the victim group, the courts should increasingly focus their investigation into the mind of the génocidaires and their perception of the national victim group. In addition to discussing the dynamics of intergroup conflicts leading up to a genocide, this article also looks at the jurisprudence of criminal courts on the issues of nationality, national groups, and national identity for the crime of genocide.

Keywords

genocidenational groupidentityperpetratorinternational criminal law
Type
Special Issue Article
Information
Nationalities Papers , Volume 49 , Issue 2: Special Issue on Conceptualizing and Operationalizing Identity, Race, Ethnicity, and Nationality by Law , March 2021 , pp. 240 - 261
Copyright
© Association for the Study of Nationalities 2020

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Alvarez, José. 1999. “Lessons from the Akayesu Judgment.” ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law 5: 359–370.Google Scholar
Anderson, Benedict. 2006. Imagined Identities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism. London: Verso.Google Scholar
Appadurai, Arjun. 2006. Fear of Small Numbers: An Essay on the Geography of Anger. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.Google Scholar
Banton, Michael. 1996. International Action against Racial Discrimination. Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barth, Fredrik. 1969/1998. “Introduction.” In Ethnic Groups and Boundaries: The Social Organization of Culture Difference, edited by Barth, Fredrik. Boston: Little, Brown and Co. pp. 9–38.Google Scholar
Bisaz, Corsin. 2012. The Concept of Group Rights in International Law: Groups as Contested Right-Holders, Subjects and Legal Persons. Leiden, Netherlands: Martinus Nijhoff.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blumer, Herbert. 1958. “Race Prejudice as a Sense of Group Position.” The Pacific Sociological Review 1 (1): 3–7.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bosdriesz, Hanna, and Wirken, Sander. 2014. “An Imperfect Success—the Guatemalan Genocide Trial and the Struggle against Impunity for International Crimes.” International Criminal Law Review 14 (6): 1067–1094.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brownlie, Ian. 2003. Principles of Public International Law, 6th ed. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Brubaker, Rogers. 2009. “Ethnicity, Race, and Nationalism.” Annual Review of Sociology 35: 21–42.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Del Carmen Marquez Carrasco, Maria, and Fernandez, Joaquin Alcaide. 1999. “In Re Pinochet.” American Journal of International Law 93 (3): 690–696.Google Scholar
Castells, Manuel. 2010. The Power of Identity, 2nd ed. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell.Google Scholar
Chalk, Frank, and Jonassohn, Kurt. 1990. The History and Sociology of Genocide: Analyses and Case Studies. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Cheesman, Nick. 2017. “How in Myanmar ‘National Races’ Came to Surpass Citizenship and Exclude Rohingya.” Journal of Contemporary Asia 47 (3): 461–483.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Confino, Alan. 2014. A World Without Jews: The Nazi Imagination from Persecution to Genocide. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Cornell, Stephan, and Hartmann, Douglas. 1998. Ethnicity and Race: Making Identities in a Changing World. Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press.Google Scholar
Crawford, James. 2012. “The Relations of Nationality.” In Brownlie’s Principles of Public International Law, edited by Crawford, James. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. pp. 495–511.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cryer, Robert, Robinson, Darryl, and Vasiliev, Sergey. 2019. An Introduction to International Criminal Law and Procedure, 4th ed. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Deng, Francis. 2012. “Foreword: The Challenge of Managing Identity Conflicts.” In The Slippery Slope to Genocide: Reducing Identity Conflicts and Preventing Mass Murder, edited by Zartman, I. William Anstey, Mark, and Meerts, Paul. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. pp. vii–xiii.Google Scholar
Deutsch, David, and Yanay, Niza. 2016. “The Politics of Intimacy: Nazi and Hutu Propaganda as Case Studies.” Journal of Genocide Research 18 (1): 21–39.Google Scholar
Donohue, William. 2012. “The Identity Trap: Managing Paradox in Crisis Bargaining.” In The Slippery Slope to Genocide: Reducing Identity Conflicts and Preventing Mass Murder, edited by Zartman, I. William Anstey, Mark, and Meerts, Paul. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. pp. 55–71CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dutton, Donald. 2007. The Psychology of Genocide, Massacres, and Extreme Violence: Why “Normal” People Commit Atrocities. Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger Security International.Google Scholar
Eriksen, Thomas Hylland. 2010. Ethnicity and Nationalism, 3rd ed. London: Pluto Press.Google Scholar
Feitlowitz, Marguerite. 2011. A Lexicon of Terror: Argentina and the Legacies of Torture, 2nd ed. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
FIDH. 2013. Genocidio en Guatemala: Ríos Montt Culpable. https://www.fidh.org/IMG/pdf/informe_guatemala613esp2013.pdf.Google Scholar
Fournet, Caroline. 2007. The Crime of Destruction and the Law of Genocide: Their Impact on Collective Memory. Aldershot, UK: Ashgate.Google Scholar
Garner, Bryan, ed. 2014. Black’s Law Dictionary, 10th ed. Toronto: Thomson Reuters.Google Scholar
Glaser, Kurt, and Possony, Stefan. 1979. Victims of Politics: The State of Human Rights. New York: Columbia University Press.Google Scholar
Greenberg, Douglas. 2011. “Citizenship, National Identity, and Genocide.” In Confronting Genocide, edited by Provost, René and Akhavan, Payam. Dordrecht, Netherlands: Springer. pp. 81–95CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Haque, Md. Mahbubul. 2017. “Rohingya Ethnic Muslim Minority and the 1982 Citizenship Law in Burma.” Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs 37 (4): 454–469.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hardin, Russell. 1995. One for All: The Logic of Group Conflict. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Hart, Claire, and Vugt, Mark van. “From Fault Lines to Group Fission: Understanding Membership Changes in Small Groups.” Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 32 (3): 392–404.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Henrard, Kristin. 2018. “The Shifting Parameters of Nationality.” Netherlands International Law Review 65 (3): 269–297.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hiebert, Maureen. 2017. Constructing Genocide and Mass Violence: Society, Crisis, Identity. Abingdon, UK: Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hoffmann, Tamás. 2014. “The Perils of Judicial Construction of Identity—a Critical Analysis of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia’s Jurisprudence on Protected Persons.” In Allegiance and Identity in a Globalised World, edited by Jenkins, Fiona Nolan, Mark, and Rubenstein, Kim. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. pp. 497–521CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huntington, Samuel. 1996. Clash of Civilizations. New York: Simon & Schuster.Google Scholar
International Criminal Law Research Unit of the FAU. 2016. “Urteil im Frankfurter Völkermordprozess ist rechtskräftig.” https://www.vstr.rw.fau.de/2016/08/05/urteil-im-frankfurter-voelkermordprozess-ist-rechtskraeftig/.Google Scholar
Jared, O’Neil Bell. 2016. “Conflict and Identity as a Major Impetus in Escalating or De-Escalating Conflict.” Epiphany: Journal of Transdisciplinary Studies 9 (3): 79–85.Google Scholar
Justice Rapid Response. 2019. “Charges presented against high-ranking military officers in separate Guatemala genocide cases.” https://www.justicerapidresponse.org/charges-presented-against-high-ranking-military-officers-in-separate-guatemala-genocide-cases/.Google Scholar
Kaleck, Wolfgang, and Kroker, Patrick. 2018. “Syrian Torture Investigations in Germany and Beyond: Breathing New Life into Universal Jurisdiction in Europe?” Journal of International Criminal Justice 16 (1): 165–191.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kress, Claus. 2006. “The Crime of Genocide Under International Law.” International Criminal Law Review 6: 461–502.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kroker, Patrick, and Kather, Alexandra Lily. 2017. “Justice for Syria? Opportunities and Limitations of Universal Jurisdiction Trials in Germany.” https://www.ejiltalk.org/justice-for-syria-opportunities-and-limitations-of-universal-jurisdiction-trials-in-germany/.Google Scholar
Lemkin, Raphael. 1944. Axis Rule in Occupied Europe. London: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.Google Scholar
Lemkin, Raphael. 1953. “Soviet Genocide in Ukraine.” Reproduced in Roman Serbyn. 2009. “Lemkin on Genocide of Nations.” Journal of International Criminal Justice 7 (1): 123–130.Google Scholar
Le Gallez, Isabelle. 2015. “The Case that Divided Strasbourg: Vasiliauskas v Lithuania.” https://lawpoliticsandsociology.wordpress.com/2015/10/29/the-case-that-divided-strasbourg-vasiliauskas-v-lithuania/Google Scholar
Lingaas, Carola. 2015. “Defining the Protected Groups of Genocide Through the Case Law of International Courts.” http://www.internationalcrimesdatabase.org/upload/documents/20151217T122733-Lingaas%20Final%20ICD%20Format.pdfGoogle Scholar
Lingaas, Carola. 2018. “Enhancing the Effectiveness of the Law of Genocide.” In Strengthening the Validity of International Criminal Tribunals, edited by Nicholson, Joanna. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill Nijhoff. pp. 126–151Google Scholar
Lingaas, Carola. 2019. The Concept of Race in International Criminal Law. Abingdon, UK: Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lippman, Matthew. 2001. “Genocide: The Crime of the Century. The Jurisprudence of Death at the Dawn of the New Millennium.” Houston Journal of International Law 23 (3): 469–520.Google Scholar
Lippman, Matthew. 2008. “Genocide.” In International Criminal Law, 3rd ed., edited by Bassiouni, M. Cherif. Leiden, Netherlands: Martinus Nijhoff. pp. 403–436Google Scholar
Lisson, David. 2008. “Defining ‘National Group’ in the Genocide Convention: A Case Study of Timor-Leste.” Stanford Law Review 60 (5): 1459–1496.Google Scholar
Luban, David. 2006. “Calling Genocide by Its Rightful Name.” Chicago Journal of International Law 7 (1): 303–320.Google Scholar
Moshman, David. 2007. “Us and Them: Identity and Genocide.” Identity: An International Journal of Theory and Research 7 (2): 115–135.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mugwanya, George William. 2007. The Crime of Genocide in International Law. London: Cameron May.Google Scholar
Nersessian, David. 2010. Genocide and Political Groups. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nersessian, David. 2002. “The Contours of Genocidal Intent: Troubling Jurisprudence from the International Criminal Tribunals.” Texas International Law Journal 37 (2): 231–276.Google Scholar
Nilsson, Jonas. 2018. “The Mladić Tribunal: The Last Case before the ICTY.” http://www.internationalcrimesdatabase.org/upload/documents/20180927T105952-ICD%20Brief%20on%20the%20Mladic%20case%2019%20September%202018.pdf.Google Scholar
Pap, András László. 2017. “Ethno-Racial Identity (Politics) by Law: ‘Fraud’ and ‘Choice.’” Nationalities Papers 45 (5): 968–987.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Paul, Angela. 2008. Kritische Analyse und Reformvorschlag zu Art. II Genozidkonvention. Berlin: Springer Verlag.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Penetrante, Ariel Macaspac. 2012. “Negotiating Memories and Justice in the Philippines.” In The Slippery Slope to Genocide: Reducing Identity Conflicts and Preventing Mass Murder, edited by Zartman, I. William Anstey, Mark, and Paul Meerts. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. pp. 85–109CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pettai, Eva-Clarita. 2017. “Prosecuting Soviet Genocide: Comparing the Politics of Criminal Justice in the Baltic States.” European Politics and Society 18 (1): 52–65.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Safferling, Christoph. Tatherrschaft beim Völkermord und Völkermordabsicht. https://www.str1.rw.fau.de/files/2016/02/Safferling_AkteRecht_BGH_3-StR-575-14_Tatherrschaft_Völkermord.pdf.Google Scholar
Sands, Philippe. 2016. East West Street: On the Origins of Genocide and Crimes against Humanity. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson.Google Scholar
Satkauskas, Rytis. 2004. “Soviet Genocide Trials in the Baltic States: The Relevance of International Law.” Yearbook of International Humanitarian Law 7: 388–409.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schabas, William. 2003. “National Courts Finally Begin to Prosecute Genocide, the ‘Crime of Crimes.’” Journal of International Criminal Justice 1 (1): 39–63.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schabas, William. 2009a. “Defining Genocide.” In The Diversity of International Law, edited by Constantinides, Aristotle and Zaikos, Nikos. Leiden, Netherlands: Martinus Nijhoff. pp. 535–545Google Scholar
Schabas, William. 2009b. Genocide in International Law: The Crime of Crimes, 2nd ed. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schabas, William. 2010. “Judicial Activism and the Crime of Genocide.” In Judicial Creativity at the International Criminal Tribunals, edited by Darcy, Shane and Powderly, Joseph. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. pp. 63–79CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, David Livingstone. 2011. Less than Human: Why We Demean, Enslave, and Exterminate Others. New York: St. Martin’s Press.Google Scholar
Stahn, Carsten. 2018. “ICTY and the New Law of Genocide.” In New Challenges to International Law: A View from The Hague, edited by van Hoogstraten, Steven. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill Nijhoff. pp. 126–140Google Scholar
Staub, Ervin. 2012. “The Roots and Prevention of Genocide and Related Mass Violence.” In The Slippery Slope to Genocide: Reducing Identity Conflicts and Preventing Mass Murder, edited by Zartman, I. William Anstey, Mark, and Meerts, Paul. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. pp. 35–52CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tajfel, Henri. 1981. Human Groups and Social Categories: Studies in Social Psychology. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Tams, Christian, Berster, Lars, and Schiffbauer, Björn. 2014. Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide: A Commentary. C.H. Beck Hart Nomos. Munich, Oxford, Baden-Baden.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Timmermann, Wibke. 2006. “Incitement in International Criminal Law.” International Review of the Red Cross 88 (864): 823–852.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Triandafyllidou, Anna. 1998. “National Identity and the ‘Other.’” Ethnic & Racial Studies 21 (4): 593–612.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vasiliev, Sergey. 2017. “Cross-Fertilisation Under the Looking Glass: Transjudicial Grammar and the Reception of Strasbourg Jurisprudence by International Criminal Tribunals.” In Judicial Dialogue on Human Rights: The Practice of International Criminal Tribunals, edited by Mariniello, Triestino and Lobba, Paolo. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill. pp. 13–39Google Scholar
Vierdag, E. W. 1973. The Concept of Discrimination in International Law: With Special Reference to Human Rights. Leiden, Netherlands: Martinus Nijhoff.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weber, Max. 1922. Grundriss der Sozialökonomik, III. Abteilung: Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft. Heidelberg, Germany: Mohr Verlag.Google Scholar
Werle, Gerhard. 2009. “General Principles of International Criminal Law.” In The Oxford Companion to International Criminal Justice, edited by Cassese, Antonio. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. pp. 54–62Google Scholar
Werle, Gerhard, and Jessberger, Florian. 2014. Principles of International Criminal Law, 3rd ed. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Wouters, Jan, and Verhoeven, Sten. 2007. “The Prosecution of Genocide—in Search of a European Perspective.” In The Criminal Law of Genocide: International, Comparative and Contextual Aspects, edited by Henham, Ralph and Behrens, Paul. Aldershot, UK: Ashgate. pp. 189–201Google Scholar
Wouters, Jan, and Verhoeven, Sten. 2013. “The Domestic Prosecution of Genocide.” In Elements of Genocide, edited by Behrens, Paul and Henham, Ralph. London, UK: Routledge. pp. 177–206Google Scholar
Zartman, I. William, and Anstey, Mark. 2012. “The Problem: Preventing Identity Conflicts and Genocide.” In The Slippery Slope to Genocide: Reducing Identity Conflicts and Preventing Mass Murder, edited by Zartman, I. William Anstey, Mark, and Meerts, Paul. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. pp. 3–34CrossRefGoogle Scholar